Friendship of SA Prayer Service

Christmas Crib

December 2016 Newsletter

My Journey to Peru by Mary Hemmings

In September I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to travel to Peru. Here the Sisters of St Joseph have lived and worked since 1981. In 1996 the first gathering of Associates occurred and in October this year they planned their first ‘National Congress’ (see photo below), which was the reason for my visit.

On Monday 19th September I arrived at Lima Airport to a very warm welcome from Sr Frances Maguire and three Associates. This set the scene for the next four weeks as I experienced great hospitality and warmth wherever I went.

I travelled to several different places where the Sisters or Associates live and work. With Sr Frances and two Associates I flew to Cajabamba. Here the Sisters have never lived; it is Associates from Lima who have visited and sparked interest in some locals in the story of Mary MacKillop. Gathering with the small group for prayer and a simple meal was

very humbling. This group included one woman’s three children, ranging from 10 to 18! As their outreach, some of them are involved in teaching catechesis to children in the Parish.

It was here that I also visited a preschool where one of the Associates from Lima has visited and organised, using some funds from SA Associates, to have 5 small seesaws and 4 swings placed in their play space which previously only had a few old tyres in the ground. (see photo below)

A seven hour bus trip from Lima took me to Tarma where Sr Katrina van Ruth, one of our SA Sisters, lives. Here I delighted in spending a morning visiting the classes where Sr Katrina works and, with her interpreting, was able to engage with the children. Many Adelaide Associates provided wool which I took to Tarma. The local women will next winter knit these into warm clothes for their children.

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PO Box 57 Kent Town, SA 5071 sa.associates@sosj.org.au

‘Will each of you go in spirit to the crib and meditate on the lessons He teaches there.’ MMK

With Sr Katrina I also had the opportunity to travel to Huasihuasa where Sr Irene McCormack is buried. (see photo at left)

In Iquitos, a jungle area of Peru, two Peruvian Josephite Sisters, Sr

Chari and Sr Jenny, run a school, while an Australian Sister, Sr Marg Crossman, works in a parish. I shared in the Feast of St Francis by participating in a procession followed by Mass and then a meal with the locals.

With Rosa Davila (left in photo above), a Josephite Associate, I travelled to Pitumarca, a

small town in the Andes, where Sr Angela Carroll lived for many years. In that time a group of Associates was established where women make handicrafts and send them to Australia. On the evening of my visit we shared in prayer and song. I was inspired here by some young women who are determined to begin working with the children and teaching them, just as Sr Angela did for them as children... a continuing of the story of Mary MacKillop.

In Motupe, on the outskirts of Lima, the Josephites have established a preschool for children with learning needs. A group of Associates also create handicrafts and some of them, through a grant form MMI, now earn a little by teaching other women in different places.

It was great for me to be able to visit the Associates in their own contexts and then to meet up with them again at their ‘Congress’ in Lima. The Sisters have enabled them to learn new skills and be empowered to take on different challenges. The faith and commitment of the Associates was so evident. My time in Peru was truly a blessed opportunity.

Women making handicrafts with Sr Clare In Pitumarca with some Associates

Associate Newsletter This newsletter is also available on the internet. Check out the web address:

http://www.sosj.org.au/being-involved/list_newsletters.cfm?filter=NLSAA&loadref=544

There you will also find the newsletters of other regions. This is part of the Sisters of St Joseph website where you will find many articles of interest.

Recycle your Newsletter When you have finished with the newsletter, a good recycling idea is to pass it around for others to read.

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Journey with Jesus @ Largs

Prayer Day led by Sr Kateri Duke

Sunday 19th

February 2017

Josephite House 1 Everard St, Largs Bay

10am – 3pm (cuppa at 9.30am)

As part of the sesquicentenary celebrations Srs Helen and Kateri Duke rsj held prayer days in regional centres of SA. These were highly successful days and enjoyed by all who attended.

We city folk are now being offered this too. All are welcome! Lunch is provided at $5 per person. There will also be a raffle to help the Josephite mission in Peru. For catering purposes please RSVP by 13th February to sa.associates@sosj.org.au or telephone Carla on 8351 1575.

Walk with Jesus Stations of the Cross

Saturday 25th

March 2017

Venue to be confirmed (Bethany or the Monastery)

2pm

During the season of Lent next year come and pray the Stations of the Cross led by some of the Josephite Associate Leadership team.

Bring a friend or two. All are welcome!

This will be followed by a light afternoon tea. See you there.

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“Living in a humble simple way,

we want for nothing.” MMK 1881

The Junior Josephites by RS and LP

We are a part of a special group from Whitefriars Primary School. We try each day to follow in the footsteps of Mary MacKillop and spread the spirit of kindness to the wider community.

We hold meetings every Thursday lunch times. Our goal is to pray, educate the community and help others in need. Our group is dedicated to letting the community know about the story of Mary MacKillop especially because we are celebrating 150 years of the Sisters of St Joseph. At assembly we have been sharing Mary MacKillop’s story which includes her journey establishing the Sisters of St Joseph with Fr Julian Tenison Woods, the troubles she faced, what led to her becoming a saint and the work that the Sisters do in the world today. It is a wonderful way to show our school connection to the Sisters and how much they have influenced us.

The Junior Josephites also make many memorable contributions to the school community in other ways. In the past years we have made a refugee banner to promote awareness that our school welcomes refugees. We have made hampers consisting of different items to give to women in detention centres. We lead our community prayer once a term and we have had many guests come and talk to us about the Sisters and also discuss some of the issues with which we can help. These help us to educate ourselves and to spread that knowledge to our school community.

Being Junior Josephites, we can truly say that Mary MacKillop has influenced our school, our group and our daily lives. Following in the footsteps of Mary MacKillop we have been able to contribute our part in making the world a better place.

Our banner supporting refugees.

Working on cards to send to the Sisters. The banner we are working on.

Find-a-Word: find all the words underlined

Mary MacKillop was born in Melbourne on the 15th January 1842. Her parents were Flora MacDonald and Alexander MacKillop. When Mary was 18 she went to work in Penola. It was here that she met Fr Julian Tenison Woods who inspired Mary to open a Catholic school and also co-founded with Mary the Sisters of St Joseph. In 1867, Mary and her Sisters came to Adelaide to start a school. From here, the Sisters spread to towns and cities around Australia, New Zealand and beyond. While in Adelaide, Bishop Shiel excommunicated Mary for 5 months. To gain approval from the Pope for the congregation Mary travelled to Rome in 1872. Mary relocated to Sydney in 1883 and she never returned to Adelaide. It was here on the 8th August 1909 that Mary died from ill-health. She is buried in the Chapel at the Mother House in North Sydney.

G Q G S H D Y F R T S Z O U R

R Y F P Y E L X L P U E F J E

A R O L F D M A O R R T A F D

V Q A J Y S N L N P I N Z X N

E N R U O B L E M O U B Z L A

A S P U V I E N Y A D N I R X

D P N S K N F L R C A C S F E

E N F C I T C Y H I S P A B L

L J A U S T R A L I A D L M A

A M E L I D P U T X P Q O H K

I N P O A E J G N H W B N O S

D D O F L E S U U X O E E V W

E C P J K B Z S O Q M L P Z L

N O S I N E T T E O P R I V A

N V J O S E P H R W M L H C Z

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The Vision – a painting by Jan Williamson 2016 About My Painting by Jan Williamson

The painting was commissioned to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the day that Mary MacKillop realised her calling and her vision, and who was to educate children and teach the love of Jesus. Fr Julian Tenison Woods shared this vision and promised to build a school for Mary in Penola. The rest is the history of the Josephite Sisters.

Mary chose to wear a simple black dress at this time. The rosary beads depict her strong faith. Fr Woods holds his Bible and they are connected by the vision of the schoolhouse in the misty background. The gum trees depict the locality of Penola and the countryside. If you look closely you will see a cross between the two figures which also connects them. Mary was probably a little scared of the future, but had the faith to pursue her vision.

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The painting is used with permission of the artist and the Trustees of the Sisters of St Joseph. Must not be reproduced without permission.

Reflecting on Fr Woods by Kaye Evans

For some years now, my husband Allan and I have attended the monthly Masses at St Joseph’s Chapel in Kensington.

On the 8th of October this year following the Mass, we joined the others for morning tea and took the opportunity to listen to Sr Mary Cresp rsj reflect on the life of Fr Julian Tenison Woods. This inspirational story touched all those who were there.

As a young person I did not know my family and went to several schools in the areas Mary MacKillop would have visited. In my teens I became a Catholic and always placed myself in the company of people who taught me about

Mary MacKillop. I would hear stories of Fr Woods but never knew a lot about his life, so it was wonderful to be able to learn more of this man through Sr Mary’s presentation.

The display in Bethany Hall of the beautiful and original artwork, which was part of the Julian Artfest, was admired by all. Sr Mary wove images and insights of the artwork into the story of Fr Woods’ life. Below you can see one of the slides she used.

This day will stay with Allan (who also became a Catholic in later years) and me for a long time. We feel blessed to belong to a lovely family of Mary MacKillop inspired people.

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Gather for a Cuppa in Renmark

Diary Dates for 2017

Prayer Day Date: Sunday 19th February For more details turn to page 3.

Stations of the Cross Date: Saturday 25th March For more details turn to page 3.

A Visit to the Mitcham Cemetery Date: May Further details to come.

Celebrating 30 Years of Associates Date: Saturday 8th July Further details to come.

Weekend @ Penola Date: September or October More details to come.

Christmas Carols Date: Friday 8th December More details to come.

Mary MacKillop Centre The Administration Office at Kensington will be closed from Friday 23rd December, 2016 and will re-open on Tuesday 3rd January, 2017.

Paying your Subs through your Bank If you make a payment through your bank (BSB: 105-087 & Account: 039066240) please let our Treasurer, Julie Langman, know.

write to: 16 Greenwood Cres, Glenalta 5052 OR email: sa.associates@sosj.org.au 7

Our Catholic Women's Group held our sesquicentenary morning tea on Thursday 20th October this year. You can see some photos of our morning. We had some very welcome help from a few students from St Joseph’s, Renmark. A donation was sent to the Associates in Adelaide for the Refugee Ministry. God bless, Margaret Smith.

The Crib – Its Call to us Today

Introduction Mary MacKillop had a special connection to the Christmas crib because it meant the coming of Jesus in human form in our world and her belief that we are called to bring God alive in today’s world.

From the pen of Mary MacKillop Will each of you go in spirit to the crib and meditate on the lessons He teaches there.

Scripture tells us… What is our Josephite response?

‘God so loved the world...’ Unconditional love of God. ‘The Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us…’ God present in life. ‘All humanity will see God’s salvation…’ Inclusivity of God’s love. ‘An angel of the Lord appeared first to Shepherds…’ Preferential option for the poor. ‘She laid Him in a manger…’ Sprit of humility, simplicity and a practical response. ‘I have come that you may have life to the full…’ Develop each to their full potential, especially the poor. ‘Love one another as I have loved you…’ In the love and service of others.

Reflection

What does this scene tell us about God? What does it tell us about the spirit in which

God is revealed? What does it call us to do in our lives?

Let us Pray Word made flesh; You came to dwell amongst us long ago. Help us to see Your presence still amongst us in the ordinariness of our lives. Freshen up our vision so that we can see that You come still by Your presence in human goodness. May our lives be filled with love for all those who come our way. Amen

Call to Action ‘Forgive from your heart anyone who has pained you.’ MMK 1890

Adapted from the December Reflection by Sr Catherine Clark rsj. Used with permission.

Wishing all Associates, together with your families and friends

a very blessed and joyful Christmas Season.

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“Forgiveness is

love.” MMK 1871